Sheffield City Council (24 008 965)
Category : Adult care services > Disabled facilities grants
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 20 Dec 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council refused an adaptation to his property. There is not enough evidence of fault to merit further investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council have refused to complete an adaptation to his property. He says they did not properly assess his medical needs.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
- We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X asked for an adaptation to his property on medical grounds. The Council completed an occupational therapy (OT) assessment in December 2023 and decided the adaptation was not necessary to meet Mr X’s needs.
- The Council reviewed Mr X’s needs in January 2024 and June 2024 and considered all available information from Mr X and his GP. The outcome of both reviews was to refuse Mr X’s request for an adaptation.
- There is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision, so I will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman